FAYETTEVILLE – A Rogers man was sentenced today to 60 years in prison without the possibility of parole on one count of Production of Child Pornography and one count of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.
According to court documents, in July 2020, Rogers Police Department received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding a Snapchat user that was uploading child sexual abuse material. The investigation led police to Michael Henderson LeClaire, 34, of Rogers, Arkansas. Results of search warrants conducted on LeClaire’s residence and electronics, showed LeClaire had produced videos of child sexual abuse material involving multiple minors. Multiple videos showed LeClaire sexually abusing an approximately 5-year-old male, 5-year-old female, and a 2-year-old male. Further, the investigation showed LeClaire had traveled across state lines to engage in sexual acts with two of the minors.
LeClaire was indicted by a Grand Jury in the Western District in July 2021 and entered a plea of guilty in November 2021.
U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.
The Rogers Police Department and the Arkansas Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Williams prosecuted the case for the United States.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.